CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO
TRANSCRIPT
Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary.
More and more Black politicians is seeing red. They’re not angry but eying political advancement as members of the GOP. As Church Militant’s Kim Tisor explains, more Black Republicans are running for Congress this year than ever before.
Eighty-one Black Americans are running on the Republican ticket this year. That’s up from just 27 two years ago. Examples include Michigan’s John James, who is running for Congress after barely losing to Democrat Gary Peters for a Senate seat in 2020. And Wesley Hunt, who won the Republican nomination for Houston’s newest congressional district during last week’s Texas primaries.
The reason for the increase appears to be twofold. First, during the 2016 race for the presidency, Donald Trump made a concerted effort to attract African American voters, who historically vote Democrat. Trump continues to gain more Black voters, and thereby politicians for the GOP, by endorsing candidates of color.
United States Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida believes another reason more Black voters are flocking to the Republican ticket is simply because they’re witnessing more Black Republicans in office. They’re encouraged by seeing people like himself and Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears.
There wasn’t a single Black Republican in Congress from 1935 until 1991. Attracting Black Republican leaders since then has been a slow journey, but one that’s finally gaining momentum.
Something that’s long overdue: The Senate yesterday unanimously passed a bill that criminalizes lynching. Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina cosponsored the bill. Scott is the first Black politician to serve in both chambers of Congress.